A Harley burger and some delicious Schmierkase cheesecake should put you in a hometown Baltimore mood.
Cindy Harrison of Ellicott City wrote that her father grew up in the 1930s in Baltimore and relished a Schmierkase cheesecake, which the family purchased at a Highlandtown bakery. She wants to duplicate the taste.
Janet Machulcz of Westminster sent in chef Kent Rigby's choice. She wrote: "I too grew up in the Highlandtown/Canton neighborhood where there was virtually a bakery on every other corner. Schmierkase was a family favorite, and my mother gave me a recipe several years ago that looks and tastes like that which was available in the area."
Cream cheese cake
CRUST:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 pound butter or margarine, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
FILLING:
1 pound cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
4 eggs
1 quart milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Mix crust ingredients well and press dough into a 9-by-13-inch pan.
Mix filling ingredients together well and pour over crust. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Faith H. Debes of Fallston wants a recipe for a Harley burger. She notes that she and her husband got them at "a restaurant known as Harley's around 25th Street. Since those years, we have not found anything similar and would love to try and make them."
Fred E. Winterling of Baltimore responded with the chef's choice. He wrote: "My wife and I also grew up in the '50s and have been making Harley burgers at home for many years. It is a very simple recipe in terms of ingredients, but the method of cooking is extremely important. The use of fresh ground beef is a no-no. The secret is to use frozen beef patties unflavored and cooked exactly as directed."
Fred's Harley burgers
Makes 2 whole subs or 4 half subs
2 whole sub rolls, very fresh
8 frozen beef patties (2 ounces each)
2 large onions, sliced in rings
2 cups water
1 teaspoon A-1 steak sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
salt and pepper to taste
Saute frozen beef patties in large skillet over medium heat until half done (about 30 seconds on each side). Remove from pan and set aside on plate. Empty excess grease from pan and add the water, steak sauce, ketchup and salt and pepper. Stir and cook about 2 minutes and then return beef patties to pan. Simmer over low heat about 10 minutes until patties are thoroughly cooked. Make sure patties are just barely covered and add water as necessary to replace sauce that has cooked down.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan cook onions with about 2 tablespoons oil on low heat until just limp -- do not brown onions. Add enough sauce from the beef patties to the onions to coat them thoroughly. Cover onion pan with a lid and steam onions until done, about 5 minutes.
Place 4 burgers on one whole sub roll with a little sauce, top with onions, add a little salt and pepper.
"Enjoy," says Mr. Winterling, who adds, "This is a nostalgic old recipe that is delicious."
Recipe requests
* Jerri L. Spry of Baltimore remembers her mother's hummingbird cake and the "assorted nuts and fruits my mother had to buy at the farmer's market to make it. It was absolutely spectacular and very moist."
* N. Shipley of Baltimore remembers a blueberry sour cream coffee cake and would appreciate the recipe.
* Janet Machulcz of Westminster writes that she and her husband looked forward to dining at the Crisfield II Restaurant in Ocean City each year on vacation, and her husband always ordered Callahan crab, which was his favorite. Now the restaurant is closed.
"I don't know what was in the dish except it was made with lump crab meat served similar to crab imperial."
Chefs Gilles Syglowski and Kent Rigby, with the help of chefs and students at the Baltimore International College, tested these recipes.
If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request for a long-gone recipe, maybe we can help. Write to Ellen Hawks, Recipe Finder, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278.
If you send in more than one recipe, put each on a separate sheet of paper with your name, address and phone number. Please note the number of servings each recipe makes. We will test the first 12 recipes sent to us.
Pub Date: 8/06/97
